Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1887-1890, 1887-06-15
CORPORATE POWERS.
Good Reasons Why Great FaI $
Should be incorporated
Promptly.

To THE EDITOR: The necessity OF incor'
porating Great Falls as a city, daily be,
comes more urgent. Until recently nc
other town in the territory of equal popu'
lation has been more peaceable or boasted
of Citizens more %law-abiding, but the influx
of new corners may change the complex
| ion. The history of towns on the line and
! in advance Of new railroads, that enjoy
the business enterprise and prosperity
which Great Falls does, is that there is al
| WAYS an abundance of "dead beats and
bums,n who precede the arrival OF the
l.road. These persons work not, nor do
they have any visible means of support.
They lounge about town, in wait for their
opportunity to "stand in" with some one
that has a few dollars at command, and
usually are ready to paint the town red,
give an exhibition of the manly art Or
otherwise disturb the peace and quiet of
the city. Scraps are at such times fire.
quent on our streets. They have already
become a daily amusement for certain
classes.
Laws are made for the good of society
and for it's protection they should be en-
forced. We have law, but the present
means of enforcement are inadequate.
The petty attractions of the law are prin-
cipally made by offenders who usually
lack the means to pay their fines when
arraigned and found guilty. Unless we
are prepared to let them go scot free we
must enforce the fine by imprisonment,
This can only be done by sending the
prisoner to the county Jail at Fort Benton,
a distance of forty miles, at the expense of
the county the cost of each conviction be-
ing at least $40 to $50. If the law is en-
forced strictly the total expense to the
county will be thousands of dollars with
no return therefor, except the preservation
of the peace, which should be otherwise
provided for. The county commissioners
dislike to allow such expenses, yet we are
not permitted to conf1ne the offenders here
at less cost.
Now, what is the remedy? 1t seems to
be this-that Great Falls should be in
corporated with all the powers and pri-
vileges of a city; including authority to
pass ordinances; to punish drunken men
and prevent fighting or other disturbances
of the peace. Then persons who persist
in violation of the law and order should, |
in default of payment of fines, be given /
employment at grading and improving our
streets. A few days of such employment |
may tend to weaken the disorded spirit of |
the biggest of the said dead beats. Steps |
should be taken Immediately to secure |
this incorporation. We nave now nearly |
one thousand people, but two months
hence the number will be doubled, and
in three months we may expect to have |
a population of three thousand. We now
have the number required for incorpora- /
ton and can well afford to support a luz
government. OF course there will
be city taxes to pay, but there will also be
a corresponding increase in the value of
property. Capitalists coming here to
will also be more favorably inn
Besides corporate rank would
be more dignifled, and would give the
city a more metropolitan tone with many
other advantages which are obvious.
BLACK EAGLE.